Bright Future for New York's Waterways

By BENJAMIN SARLIN, Special to the Sun
May 6, 2008

New York's waterways, once indispensible for transportation around the city, are making a comeback, with a new ferry service expected to launch next week.

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Konrad Fiedler

An Environmentally Friendly Alternative Ferries like this one will soon transport commuters around the city.

The first route, connecting Far Rockaway, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and the South Street Seaport, will open May 12 and operate only on weekdays. Fares for the partially subsidized service, to be run by a private operator, New York Water Taxi, will be capped at $6. Riders will also be able to purchase a 40-ticket package at a 10% discount.

Mayor Bloomberg, who arrived at the press conference in Brooklyn by water taxi from Lower Manhattan, said the "fast, affordable, and environmentally friendly" ferries would shave about 30 minutes off the commute between Manhattan and Rockaway, which he estimated at 90 minutes by car. He added that the service would be an especially attractive alternative to driving given the high price of gas.

New ferry landings in three locations are being paid for using $4.4 million in federal money secured by Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney. The city plans to expand ferry service to include stops at East 34th Street in Manhattan, Long Island City in Queens, and South Williamsburg in Brooklyn, beginning in July of this year. Additional stops are planned for 2010 in Greenpoint and North Williamsburg in Brooklyn, as well as Roosevelt Island. The city is also exploring creating stops that could include East 90th Street and West 125th Street in Manhattan, Riverdale in the Bronx, and Coney Island in Brooklyn, among others.

"Bringing new ferry service to New York's waterways really is an idea that's been around a long time and the question was never should we do this, but really rather how we can do this," Mr. Bloomberg said.

The mayor said the city is also in discussions with Rep. Anthony Weiner to find a use for the $15 million in federal funding the congressman secured in 2005 to buy new ferries. The transportation commissioner at the time, Iris Weinshall, said then that the money was insufficient to purchase and operate new ferries, but Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday: "We're not going to walk away from $15 million."